Recovery Education Centre

The Dorset Recovery Education Centre (REC) is jointly delivered by Dorset HealthCare and the Dorset Mental Health Forum, a peer-led charity. It provides education and training for people with affected by mental health problems, focusing on self-management, self-determination, choice and responsibility.

Our courses are available to people with personal experience of mental distress and their carers/supporters, friends and family, and also for staff members who work alongside people suffering periods of ill health.

The focus is for individuals to recognise and develop the skills they need to lead the lives they wish to live. The REC will provide you with tools and skills to help you understand your experiences, take control of your life and manage your own recovery.

The REC also aims to improve people’s experience of local mental health services, and make best use of the support they provide.

All courses are co-produced and are co-delivered by a ‘peer specialist’ – someone with personal experience of mental illness – and a healthcare professional. This combined knowledge and expertise enables us to provide comprehensive training and support.

How can I attend the REC?

Although we speak of the REC as a centre, its courses are delivered in various community venues across Dorset. All our courses are free of charge, but if you wish to attend you must be aged 18 or over and live in Dorset.

Once you are registered with the REC, you can then enrol on the courses that you’d like to attend.

If you have any difficulties registering with the REC, please contact us on 01202 584478 or email us.

Courses on offer

Our courses have been designed to empower people to find hope, to see and embrace opportunity through building skills and gain control by putting these skills into practice.

The Summer Term 2017 is running from May through to July. We are offering courses throughout Dorset, including:

Introducing Recovery

Understanding Depression and Anxiety

Mindful Living

Developing a Crisis Plan.

Some of the courses are one-off sessions, while others are spread across several weeks. More information is available in our Summer Term prospectus and you can also print off a timetable showing all the course dates.

More details about all REC courses offered throughout the year are available in our annual prospectus. If you have any questions about the REC, or would like give feedback on REC courses, please get in touch.

Wellbeing and Recovery Partnership (WaRP)

Dorset HealthCare and the Dorset Mental Health Forum have formed the Wellbeing and Recovery Partnership (WaRP). The aim of the WaRP is to change the culture of mental health services and people’s attitudes to mental health and wellbeing in Dorset. Close collaboration between people with lived experience, their supporters and mental health professionals is at the heart of this partnership